How To Overcome The Ego? By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

Bhagavan Sri Ramana used to say that all techniques of meditation and concentration presuppose the retention of the ego/mind. Bhagavan used to joke that employing the ego/mind to overcome the ego/mind is like hiring a thief, who is all dressed up as a policeman, to catch the thief. The policeman will pretend to make herculean efforts to catch the thief, give periodic reports of progress, but will fail each time (since the policeman is the thief!).

The whole thing is hilarious, is it not my friends. We are trying to gain Self-Realization with the effort and power of our mind. Yet, it is the ego/mind that is veiling the Self!

What a wonderful paradox indeed. Are you able to see it clearly?

The attempt to abandon the ego or overcome it, is itself based on egotism. Such forced efforts to discard the mind and transcend the ego end up only reinforcing the nonexistent phantom in our imagination.

What Bhagavan has pointed out is that all spiritual practices ultimately fall short as they presuppose the existence of mind. And with the mind in charge, there are infinite possibilities of experience; all kinds of experiences, including super conscious experiences.

No doubt experiences can be wonderful and joyful as well as painful. And yet where can any experience truly take us? Where can any experience take us other than in our own imagination of what it means to be happy in heaven, nirvana, moksha, singing with angels, or dancing with the gods, etc.

We cannot go anywhere other than where we are. We are always here. We are this present moment. This moment is eternal and infinite. This must be understood. This is Bhagavan’s teaching. Bhagavan’s dying words were, “Where can I go? I am Here.” Even in his last moments Bhagavan was teaching and pointing to the Self. All movement is in our imagination. If we do not move our mind, the outside movement becomes moot. When imagination comes to full stop, Self becomes Self-evident.

To see this, we need Grace. And the wise say that Grace is Always Here. And Self is Grace. And there is nothing but That. It is not possible to see this beauty with our eyes. One must recognize it is as one’s own being.

Thought is the observer and is not the instrument to do self-inquiry.There is no role of thought in psyche. If thought goes on observing things will not be transformed because thought is old.Insight is the right instrument to do self-inquiry. For insight to happen thought with its contents must be emptied from the mind.Empty mind has insight, it is its nature just as it is the nature of physical eyes to observe objective reality.Insight observes the subjective reality without distorting it just as a mirror never distorts the image reflected in it.

loved the quote you have posted along the picture of Ramana Maharishi, that Self realization is the greatest service which one can rendere for the good of this world.
You say true seeing is only being. could not make out ,what exactly you imply.please innumerate a little more-have you taken this from teachings of Maharishi.

The seer, seeing and true insight of the observation is the experience of ‘no-boundary’ / unity consciousness of being…thinking is judgement, or outcome of a mental event that we inadvertently use to create boundaries – nature of paradox!

“This must be understood.” Indeed. Ha. Understood and let go of just like everything else. Happy little waves bobbing on the ocean trying to remember when we understood nothing and there was nothing to overcome. Very funny and sad, tragic, lovely and magical.